adj. stark·er, stark·est 1. Clearly distinguished or delineated: a stark contrast. 2. a. Bare, desolate, or unadorned: an apartment with stark white walls; the stark beauty of the desert landscape. b. Severe or unmitigated; harsh or grim: "[They] found it hard to accept such a stark portrait of unrelieved failure" (W. Bruce Lincoln). 3. Complete or utter; extreme: stark disbelief. adv. Utterly; entirely: stark raving mad. [Middle English, stiff, severe, strong, from Old English stearc; see ster-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] starkly adv. starkness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.